Watching and Waiting
by Crowes-Gal
Summary: Grissom gets to know someone he works with a little better.. (Has an original character) Some language, but nothing else.. PLEASE!! R/R


DISCLAIMER: Blah blah blah… I don't own CSI or any of the characters except Shay. CSI and all its characters belong to CBS, Alliance Atlantis, and Anthony Zuiker. I'm not trying to make any money off of them; feedback is welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated, be it good or bad.  
  
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Gil watched her while she worked. She sat at her desk, headset on, waiting for her next call. She was laughing at something on her monitor, and motioned for a co-worker to take a look at it. They shared what seemed to be a private joke, and then her phone rang.  
  
She immediately became all business again. Taking the callers information, she entered it into the computer database they used. She called dispatch just to make sure that it went through correctly. There had been some problems with the network, and things didn't always get where they needed to be.  
  
It was nearly time for her break, Gil knew. He noted her schedule whenever he came over to see Brass. Lately, though, it seemed like he had been making up reasons to come see Jim.  
  
Gil sucked in his breath as she walked by. "Evening, Mr. Grissom," she said as she walked by. He nodded in return, and then followed her retreating form down the hall. Brown low-heeled boots, form fitting brown pants that hugged every curve, on top she had a crisp starched white blouse, which she wore untucked, and a light tan cardigan over it. She had short blonde hair, and blue eyes he thought he could get lost in forever.  
  
He wondered how she had known his name. Gil couldn't remember ever talking to her. Maybe, he thought, Brass had said something. That was not Jim's style, though. Gil quickly dismissed that thought. Good thing, too, as Brass walked up to him. "You ready?" he asked Gil.  
  
"Sure. Where to?"  
  
The two men started to walk towards the exit when Brass realized he had forgotten his cell phone in his office. "I'll be right back," he said to Gil.  
  
Gil nodded and said he was going to grab a cup of coffee from the break room. Maybe he would see her while he was in there. He pushed open the door and made a beeline for the coffee pot. While filling his paper cup, he felt a presence next to him. Looking up, he saw her standing next to him.  
  
"So, come here often?" She smiled at him warmly. "You know, I saw you lecture at UNLV once. It was on Forensic Entomology, and how they can help with the time of death. Fascinating," she said breathlessly. "Watch it, that stuffs hot." She pointed at his coffee cup, which was just about to overflow.  
  
He stopped pouring and sheepishly wiped up the small bit that had spilled. "You.. You saw me lecture? Why would you come to a lecture on bugs?" Oh, yeah, Gil. That was smooth, he thought to himself.  
  
She grinned and told him that she was working on a dual major in Criminal Justice and Biochemistry. "It was one of the suggested lectures. There were others, but I thought that yours was the most interesting."  
  
He was surprised, to say the least. "A dual major and you still work full time? How do you do it?"  
  
She giggled. "Lots of energy. Apparently, I'm hyperactive. That's how I can get by on about 6 hours of sleep a day. Sometimes it feels like a week, but I don't mind too much."  
  
He looked at her and smiled. Smiling was something he didn't seem to do a lot of. Gil didn't notice Brass waiting for him at the door.  
  
"Shay, are you done monopolizing Gil? If so, I'd like to go to lunch," Brass said with a smirk. He hadn't seen Grissom smile like that in a while. "You're on break right now, would you care to join us?"  
  
Looking to Detective Brass, she spoke, "Sure, if I wouldn't be intruding." She looked over at Gil. "Would I?"  
  
"Of course not. Maybe we could talk a bit more about your classes." He put his hand on her shoulder and guided her out towards the door.  
  
"Just let me get my bag, okay?" She bounced over to her desk and grabbed her purse out of the large drawer on the bottom. Smiling, she walked back over to them. "Okay, where shall we go?"  
  
The trio headed out to the Tahoe, and Brass insisted that Shay sit up front. He watched, as the mismatched pair in the front seat seemed to blush, and chuckled to himself. 'Never thought I would see Grissom act like a teenager over a woman,' Brass thought as he shook his head.  
  
  
  
When they got to the restaurant, a greasy spoon that many members of the night shift frequented, they weren't too surprised to see Sara and Nick at a table in the corner. Nick looked up and saw Brass and Grissom, and asked Sara if she knew whom the woman was. "I don't know her, but I think she works over with Brass. I have seen her before." Sara paused, then looked back at Nick. "Think we should invite them over?"  
  
Nick shrugged. "That's one way to get some answers, right?" Looking back at the group, he waved them over.  
  
"Hey bossman. What's cookin'?" Nick asked as he scooted over in the booth.  
  
"Shay," Grissom introduced her to the group. "This is Sara Sidle, and Nick Stokes. They both work in the Crime Lab with me." Motioning to Shay, he said, "Guys, this is Shay. She works over in the Communications Center." He slid in the booth next to Nick, and Brass and Shay sat over by Sara.  
  
The waitress came over and brought menus to the new arrivals. "Hey Grissom, Brass. Just let me know when you're ready," she said as she walked off.  
  
"I'm guessing that y'all come here often?" Shay said with a grin.  
  
Nick smiled at her and asked if that was a hint of Texas he heard in her voice. "Why, yes. Just outside of Amarillo, actually. How about you?"  
  
"Dallas." He smiled at Shay and asked, "How long have you been out here?"  
  
Gil noticed the interaction and felt himself getting a bit, what was the word for how he felt, jealous? He wasn't sure why, as he had no claim on the woman. He looked across the table to where Brass was sitting and just shook his head. Nick had a bit of a reputation as a ladies man, and Gil didn't want to see Shay get sucked into that trap. He liked the girl, and didn't want to see her get hurt.  
  
"So, you ever go two-stepping?" Nick asked. "If you do, maybe we could go some time."  
  
Gil cringed inwardly, waiting for Shay's answer. He noticed her look at him out of the corner of her eye before she answered Nick. Hoping she didn't see him watching her, he looked down at the menu.  
  
Shay smiled at Nick. "I'd love to go some night, Nick. Just as long as you understood that it was just as friends. I try not to date where I work. Something along the lines of 'Don't shit where you eat', and all. You understand, don't you?" Grinning sweetly, she shared a high-five under the table with Sara.  
  
Gil clapped his hand down on Nick's shoulder. "Can't win them all, Nicky boy?" The table shared a good laugh. Gil turned to Shay and brought up her classes. "So, how much longer do you have until you graduate?"  
  
"Thankfully, I'm in my last year. I just have until March, then finals, and I'm done. That is, unless I want to go for my Doctorate." Shay shrugged. "Depends on if I find work in Vegas or not."  
  
The waitress came by and took their orders. The five of them ate, and conversations covered everything from the latest case they were working on, to food, to music. Nothing seemed to be off limits, and Shay received a lot of questions about herself. Being the 'new girl', they all seemed to want to know about her.  
  
Brass looked at his watch, and spoke. "Well gang, I hate to be the one to break up a good party, but some of us have a real schedule to keep to."  
  
Realizing he was talking about her, Shay grinned. "Sorry, y'all. That's one thing about my department. That whole 'team' kind of thing. Thanks, Jim." Digging in her purse, she grabbed a $50 and threw it on the table. "Since I'm the one who seems to be ruining this, lunch is on me." With that, she waited for Brass to get up so they could go.  
  
"Okay, kids. I'll see you both back at the lab," Gil said sternly. Looking to Brass, he asked if he was ready. Jim nodded, and the three of them headed back out to the Tahoe. Gil opened the door for Shay, and she climbed in. Before Brass got in, he looked at Gil.  
  
"So offer her a position already," he chuckled.  
  
Grissom looked at his friend. "Think I should?"  
  
"We'll talk about it later. Back at my office."  
  
With that, Gil nodded and walked around to the driver's side of the Tahoe. He climbed in, and caught Shay looking right at him. Feeling a blush start to creep up his cheeks, he quickly averted his gaze. 'She is smart', he thought. 'A double major in Criminal Justice and Biochemistry could add to the team.' Starting the Tahoe, he put it in reverse and pulled out of the parking lot. "You know, Shay, if you need any help finishing your thesis, I'd be happy to lend an ear," he said, hoping that it didn't sound as desperate as he thought it did.  
  
Shay looked over at him and smiled. "You know, that would be great." Pausing as if she was thinking it over, she asked him if breakfast tomorrow would be all right.  
  
Brass couldn't help grinning as he listened to the two of them. He couldn't remember Grissom ever acting this way over a woman, and to him, it was funny as hell. Jim couldn't wait to drop Shay off so that he could rib Gil mercilessly about this one.  
  
"Tomorrow? What time does your shift end?" Gil asked.  
  
"Usually around 10. That is, if Cathy shows up. She's been late the last few days, and I'm going to have to say something about it if it keeps up."  
  
Gil smiled. He liked the fact that she was willing to bend, but only for so long. "Okay then, I'll meet you there at ten, as long as I don't get caught up with a case," he warned her. There had been some tough cases lately, and he didn't want to leave her waiting for him unnecessarily.  
  
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Sara looked at Nick and laughed. "Don't shit where you eat. That's priceless." Laughing harder, she added in a mock southern drawl, "Wanna go two-steppin sometimes?"  
  
Nick shot Sara a look that would have silenced most people, but not her. "Oh, come on Sara. Drop it." Nick's face was a deep red. He wasn't sure if it was because Sara was laughing at him, or if he was really interested in Shay and she had shot him down.  
  
"Nope. No way buddy. You are NOT living this one down." Sara continued to laugh as they headed out to the parking lot. She climbed in the driver's seat, and waited for Nick to get in the passenger side. Picking up the radio, she called in to dispatch. "Forensics-2, 482 clear for calls."  
  
"Man, that's so dumb. Why do we have to call into dispatch now?" Nick didn't like it, because he felt that it was another way for Sheriff Mobley to keep track of them. "Like we don't have enough to do without big bad Brian breathing down our necks."  
  
"Awww. Does poor little Nicky-wicky not like having to check in?" Sara giggled when she saw him pout. "Man, that makes me wish I had my camera. That's priceless."  
  
They bantered on like that the whole way back to the lab. Warrick greeted them in the lobby. "Man, Nick. Shot down. Who knew it could happen?" Patting him on the back, he told them that Grissom wanted them all to meet in the conference room.  
  
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Once the whole team was assembled, Grissom started. "Here's what we know so far. Mother and 2 daughters found dead in the home. Main suspect is the father, but we don't know where he is. Brass is looking for him right now. It's a mess, gang." Pausing, he took a sip of water. "Sara, you're with me. Nick, you and Catherine take the outside of the house. Warrick, you grab Greg and tell him to bring his portable DNA lab with him. We need to get this solved asap."  
  
"Why all the rush on this one, Gris?" Sara asked.  
  
Gil sighed as he answered her. "It's the mayor's sister."  
  
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Six hours later, Grissom and Sara sat with Michael Anderson in the interrogation room. They were listening to his confession after presenting him with the evidence.  
  
"Honestly," he said with a small voice. "I don't really know what happened. I just snapped. Olivia said something to me about taking the trash out, and I turned around and just stabbed her. Like it was nothing, over and over again."  
  
"What about the kids?" Brass asked him.  
  
Michael started crying at this point. "I don't know. All I remember is that I saw red, and the girls walked in and saw their mom lying there, and they started in on me. 'What did you do? Oh dad, why?' Lorelei went for the phone, and that's when I got her. I knew she was going to call the police. Once she was down, I got her sister, Alicia. Oh, god. Forgive me. What have I done?" Overtaken by pain, he couldn't speak.  
  
Grissom nodded at Brass and motioned for Sara to follow them outside. "Sounds pretty cut and dried, doesn't it?"  
  
"Yeah, I suppose it does. If his prints weren't all over the place, I would say that it sounded a little *too* cut and dried." Sara shook her head. "I just wish I knew why I felt like there should be something more."  
  
Gil rubbed his eyes, and put his glasses back on. "Sometimes, the answer is right in front of our face. Let's call it a day, Sara. I'm sure the Sheriff will be happy to know that this one is done."  
  
Brass nodded. "Who would have thought he would be the one?" Shaking his head, Jim said good bye and headed down to his office.  
  
Sara poked Gil in his side. "So, you got any big plans later?"  
  
"Nope," he replied. "Just going home." He glanced down at his watch, and noticed that it was 9:30. "Hmmm."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing. Have a good night Sara," he said as he walked off. He couldn't figure out how she would know he was meeting Shay for breakfast, so he shrugged it off. Going down to his office, he was surprised to see Shay standing at the receptionist desk. "Hey," he said as he walked over to her. "What's up?"  
  
She smiled as she saw him walk over to her. "Nothing. Cathy showed up early for once, so I thought I would sneak away before anyone asked me to work overtime. How about you? Every thing okay?"  
  
Gil nodded. "I was just going down to my office to finish some things up. Why don't you come with me, and we can just go from there."  
  
Shay nodded, and followed him down the hall. "I've only been in here once before, and that was during the afternoon. You don't share an office with Ecklie, do you?"  
  
Gil laughed at the face she made. "No, I have my own. I take it you don't like him much?"  
  
"Not really. He's very rude. I didn't feel comfortable with the way he treated me, and I also felt that it was because I was a woman." She shook her head. "That doesn't make me any less smarter than he is. I hate men like that."  
  
Just then Nick and Catherine walked around the corner. "Hey Shay!" Catherine said, surprised to see the other woman.  
  
"Hi Cath! How are you?" She leaned in and hugged the other woman. "How's Lindsey?"  
  
"She's great. I'll tell her you asked about her. How's school going? You're almost finished, right?"  
  
Shay nodded. "Yep. Just until March, then time to look for a job."  
  
Catherine looked at Gil, but didn't say anything. "Hey, tell your mom I'll call her this week, okay?"  
  
Shay nodded, and smiled. "I'll do that. Hey Nick," she turned her attention to the man standing next to Catherine. "What's up?"  
  
"Nothing. Just getting ready to head home." Nick turned and stomped off down the hall.  
  
Catherine watched him, thinking out loud. "I wonder what's gotten into him."  
  
Shay giggled, and told Catherine that she was probably the reason. She filled her in on the story at breakfast, and Catherine laughed.  
  
"You still use that line? Wow. I haven't heard that in years." She turned to Grissom, and explained the 'joke' to him. "Shay used to baby sit Lindsey for me, and her mom was the house mother at the club I danced at. Every now and then, I would need her to come get Linds from the club, and one time she was walking to the back and she heard one of the girls tell this creepy old man that she didn't date where she worked." Catherine paused, trying to catch her breath from laughing. "And ever since then, we've joked about it. I just hadn't heard it in so long, that I forgot about it."  
  
Shay handed Catherine a tissue so she could wipe her eyes. "Oh, it's a good thing that its time to go home, huh Cath?"  
  
Catherine nodded, and told Grissom she would see him later tonight. "I miss ya, kiddo. Come by sometime," she said to Shay. Hugging her, she headed down the hall.  
  
"I had no idea you knew Catherine," Gil said, surprise in his voice.  
  
Shay smiled. "Well, Mr. Grissom. I'm sure there are a lot of things you don't know about me." 


End file.
